Sometimes they hang around for a while, contending for part of the Chase before finally winding up second or third.

Rarely do they go on to win the Sprint Cup title. In the eight years of the Chase era, only two drivers — Kurt Busch in 2004 and Tony Stewart last year — have won the first Chase race and gone on to capture the championship.

So which one is Brad Keselowski?

After winning Sunday’s Chase opener at Chicagoland Speedway, is Keselowski a serious title contender? Was his impressive victory a sign of things to come?

Or will he merely join the ranks of early Chase winners who fade from contention, whose championship hopes fizzle over the next nine weeks?

Is Keselowski, 28, the type of driver who can use such a signature win to jumpstart a championship run, like Stewart did last year?

Is he the real deal, or just another Chase pretender?

The next few races will answer that question, of course, but it certainly seems that Keselowski is for real.

His win Sunday was no fluke. It was his fourth victory this season, matching Denny Hamlin for most in the series, and his seventh in the past 16 months. And it marked his 10th top-10 finish in his last 11 races — including two wins and seven top-fives.

It was his second win this year on a 1.5-mile track — the type of oval where the championship typically is decided.

And it proved once again that Keselowski and his improving Penske Racing team can win big races when they don’t necessarily have the fastest car.

But more importantly, Keselowski went toe-to-toe Sunday with five-time champion Jimmie Johnson and scored the first blow of what is expected to be a wide-open Chase.

Johnson, who won five straight championships before his record streak was snapped last season, is determined to win a sixth title. He dominated Sunday’s race, leading a race-high 172 laps, but the one driver he could not pull away from and shake was Keselowski.

That was a significant moment for not only Keselowski, but also for team owner Roger Penske, whose teams have lagged behind mighty Hendrick Motorsports for years and have been desperately trying to close the gap on the elite teams.

“To be able to race the 48 (of Johnson), we've been wanting to race the 48 for as many years as I think I've been in this sport,” said Penske, who has 12 IndyCar championships but has never won a NASCAR Cup title.

“To be able to race side by side within two or three seconds for probably almost 100 laps and come out on top is a real credit to (Brad’s) driving skills.”

It’s not only Keselowski’s driving skills that make him a championship contender.

Having grown up in a racing family on the short tracks of the Midwest, he’s one of NASCAR’s smartest drivers, both technically and in understanding the nuances of the sport that separate the top drivers and teams from the rest of the field.

He is constantly working with his team to make it better and doing his best to motivate and inspire his teammates.

“He has been an amazing young guy,” Penske says. “His support in the shop, he's a very constructive driver from the standpoint of our people within the company. Brad just revs them up, and he goes around and thanks them, and that's important.”

Keselowski also is mentally tough. He knows how to pick and prod at other drivers and teams to get under their skin, or to draw attention to things he believes might give the competition an advantage.

It was his comments after the August race at Michigan that forced NASCAR to take a close look at new technology that Hendrick and other teams were using in the rear suspensions of their cars. NASCAR eventually implemented tighter restrictions in that area, perhaps taking away any advantages others might have been gaining.

Keselowski has had his share of problems with other drivers in his brief career, mostly stemming from his overaggressive approach when he first arrived in the Sprint Cup Series. He’s learned to tone that down, however, and has worked hard to earn the respect of rival drivers.

“He went through a lot of rigmarole, some maybe he was due, some he wasn't, but I think he's managed to develop a lot of rapport with the drivers,” Penske said. “I think they trust him wheel to wheel. He's not a reckless guy at all, and on and off the track, I think he's got high integrity, and that's something we want.”

Keselowski has quickly earned a reputation as a talented, aggressive, smart driver, one with all the intangibles to win at NASCAR's highest level and contend for the prestigious Cup championship.

His quick rise to the top mirrors the emergence of Jeff Gordon in the mid-1990s and of Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson — all drivers that won instantly and quickly established themselves as perennial title contenders.

Keselowski appears to be earning a spot among those elite drivers.

He has made his mark in a hurry the past two years, and now it appears that he’s ready to challenge Johnson and Stewart for the ultimate NASCAR prize.

Sunday’s win at Chicago certainly seemed like a statement victory.

One that sends the message that he has indeed arrived as a legitimate championship contender.